The present paper deals with the study on the visual and auditory memories from a progressive point of view.
The experiments were made by immediate memory span methods in twoways:
1) by means of nonsense syllable materials
2) by means of significant syllable materials
The instruments used were memory drums for the visual memory experiments and 12-inch records for the auditory memory experiments.
The nonsense syllable materials were seven series of words composed of combinations of consonants. Vowels (a, e, i, o, u) were omitted. The 1st series had 3 words and the 7th, 9 words.
The significant syllable materials were 13 series of sentences composed of words fimiliar to the subjects, excluding honorific words and dialects. The sentences of the 1st series had 3 words (nouns, verbs and adjectives); the 13th series had 15 words.
Subjects for the experiments were 532 pupils of classes in grades of 2nd through 6th of an elementary school and 93 pupils of the 2nd and 3rd grades of a lower secondary school.
Results of the experiments:
I) Visual memory experiments
A) Experiments with nonsense syllable materials
Average of reproduction and rate of reproduction increased in the highergrades, demonstrating gradual progress in visual memory with age. Differences in the mean values shows That each grade has its own signifi cant variations.
B) Experiments with significant syllable aterials
Results were the same as in the case of nonsense syllables. However, reproduction ranged widely from series of 4 to 15 words in the lower grades, while, in the higher grades, reproduction was higher and concentrated in series of 10 to 15 words.
In the 2nd grade of the lower secondary school, rate of reproduction showed a rapiddrop; its mean value was low. This shall be noted when compared to the results of the nonsense syllable experiments.
II) Auditory memory experiments
A) Experiments with nonsense syllable materials
Results were the same as in the case of visual memory experiments. It may be said that there is an apparent tendency of improvements by age in auditory memory.
B) Experiments with significant syllable materials
In these experiments, auditory memory showed a tendency of progress in the pupils of the elementary school but was apt tobe stagnant among pupils of lower secondary school. It may be said that the auditory memory of significant syllables develops in pupils throughout grades and is stagnant in pupils of higher grades.
III) Visual and auditory menory experiments
A) Experiments with nonsense syllable materials
In pupils of elementary school, rate of reproduction of visual memory was higher than the auditory one, however, in the lower secondary school it was not. This shows a lag of 3 years from the figures in the experiments made by G. M. Whipple. B) Experiments with significant syllable materials. Visual memory was higher than auditory one in both elementary and lower secondary school. Differences in the mean values showed that each grade has significant variations.
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